Sweltering Sultriness

A Streetcar Named Desire

It might still be cold and snowing in Illinois, but the heat and humidity from New Orleans has worked its way North. The thick, musty air seems to sizzle and sear into Paramount’s Copley Theatre. The cause for this sweltering sultriness isn’t due to climate change. It comes from Artistic Director Jim Corti and guest co-director Elizabeth Swanson’s scintillating production of Tennessee Williams’ 1948 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. Playing now through late April, it’s a production that no one should miss. 

Ask any serious theatergoer for a listing of the best plays written by an American playwright and this drama is sure to rank among their top favorites. Indeed, next to CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and THE GLASS MENAGERIE, this steamy drama is probably William’s best-known and most-produced play. Indeed, Tennessee Williams’ large library of full-length and one-act plays continually provides educational, regional and Broadway theatres with gems from the playwright’s pen.

Inspired by the playwright’s own family experiences, Williams paints a sad portrait of Blanche DuBois, a faded Southern Belle who falls from grace. Blanche travels from Belle Reve, her lost family home in Laurel, Mississippi, to spend some time with Stella, her younger, married sister, in New Orleans. An addiction to alcohol and a snobby preference for culture and civility mask Blanche’s deeply-rooted guilty secrets, as well as her steady descent into mental illness. 

She arrives one night at her sister’s shabby, steamy two-room apartment by way of a series of conveyances, most notably the titular streetcar named Desire. There she faces off against Stanley Kowalski, her sister Stella’s coarse, primal-driven husband who suspects that Blanche is hiding more than a few skeletons in that huge trunk she’s hauled with her. Throughout the play, we witness a war waged between a woman desperately trying to survive through self-deception and romantic fantasies and a man motivated solely by his basic needs and animal instincts. This conflict spells tragedy from the very beginning.

The ambiguous Blanche DuBois is viewed by some audiences as a victim, a fallen angel; other theatergoers find her disgusting and consider her a deranged harlot. This production portrays Blanche as a deeply injured soul, a middle-aged woman consumed by mental problems that fester and grow during her stay with her younger sister, Stella. Confined to the cramped hot and cluttered apartment, Blanche comes across as an antihero. Williams seems to feel, as do Mr. Corti and Ms. Swanson, that Blanche deserves our sympathy for her circumstances. The playwright paints a picture of society as the villain, especially during the 1940’s, that will destroy her in the end. This is  personified by her animalistic brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, the crude “dumb Pollack,” as Blanche describes him.

Stanley is suspicious of Blanche from the start. He resents her southern belle snobbism and is critical of her prima donna ways. Stanley thinks his prissy sister-in-law is hiding something and he’s sure that it’s the money from the sale of Belle Reve. Blanche hates Stanley’s boorish ways, especially his weekly poker games. But the lonely lady unexpectedly finds a genteel suitor in Mitch, one of Stanley’s poker buddies. A romance begins to blossom between them, but it’s ultimately doomed. As the months pass, Blanche grows more nervous and jittery, drinks constantly, bathes several times a day and is increasingly critical of her brother-in-law. Her low opinion of him is obvious to Stanley and the tension between the two mounts until one brutal final night. The final scene is one of the most heartbreaking in modern dramatic literature.

The cast is stellar. Amanda Drinkall, one of Chicago’s finest young actresses, is mesmerizing as Blanche DuBois. At first theatergoers might consider this consummate professional a bit too young for the role. But Williams’ description of Blanche as being in her 30’s, having a haunted look, a frail carriage and harboring a wide range of emotions, makes Ms. Drinkall a perfect match for this demanding role. The award-winning actress has already dazzled audiences in a variety of plays, such as GREAT EXPECTATIONS, VENUS IN FUR, THE CHERRY ORCHARD and MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Now at Paramount, Ms. Drinkall truly brings to life the Blanche DuBois that Tennessee Williams created and intended. She is, as always, brilliant.

Making his Paramount debut, Casey Hoekstra captures all the machismo and coarseness of Stanley Kowalski. This gifted actor, who’s appeared in theatres all over Chicagoland, from Chicago Shakes to Northlight, from Drury Lane to Writers Theatre, isn’t exactly the Marlon Brando sort of Stanley Kowalski that most theatergoers will expect. But Casey grabs this part with both fists and definitely makes this role all his own. Mr. Hoekstra’s physicality is matched by his roaring line delivery. In the actor’s stance and through his piercing glare, the audience knows that this pressure cooker is boiling and will explode sooner or later.

As Stella, Blanche’s loving younger sister, Alina Taber takes on the role of mediator. She’s the buffer, caught in the middle between the love for and needs of both her sister and husband. This makes her a sympathetic pawn in this battle of wills. It isn’t easy and, when the pregnant young woman leaves for the hospital, the tension between Stanley and Blanche finally erupts into a volcano of emotion. Primarily known for her musical roles at Drury Lane, Writers Theatre and the Marriott, Ms. Taber is equally superb in this powerfully dramatic role.

Ben Page is solid and charming as Mitch. Having previously appeared at A Red Orchid, Jackalope and Shattered Globe, Ben is another actor making his Paramount debut. Mitch’s  fascination with and attraction to Blanche shows that, in many ways, he’s her kindred spirit. Both characters are loners yearning for the romanticism and chivalry of a bygone era. Mr. Page absolutely gets it right, every step of the way. His journey in this play, while skating along the thin ice of nostalgia, is sadly realistic. In the end, we feel forlorn by how the relationship between Blanche and Mitch finally concludes.

In addition to the fine, sensitive direction and guidance provided by Jim Corti and Elizabeth Swanson, a talented team of theatrical artists helps bring Williams’ powerful drama from page to stage. Angela Weber Miller’s skeletal scenic design allows Cat Wilson’s gorgeous, often shadowy and gloomy illuminsation to bleed through the apartment walls and out onto the street. Forest Gregor’s sound design and composer Kevin O’Donnell help the audience feel like they’re in the heart of the French Quarter, and the costumes designed by talented Mara Blumenfeld help tell us even more about these fascinating characters.

The air in the Copley Theatre seems heavy with heat and humidity, laced with sweltering sultriness, sweat and cheap perfume. It’s been transformed into the French Quarter, the neighborhood in New Orleans that playwright Tennessee Williams once called home. It’s a section of the Big Easy where a streetcar named Desire once wound its way through the dingy streets and cramped housing. From the play’s first ominous scene to its emotionally shattering conclusion, we helplessly witness a fragile woman, who’s always depended on the kindness of strangers, lose her grip on reality when her attempt to start over again proves futile.   

HighlyRecommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented March 13-April 21 by Paramount Theatre at the Copley Theatre, 8 East Galena Blvd., Aurora, IL

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 630-896-6666, or by going to www.paramountaurora.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.